Eric Hallström
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"Gata i italiensk småstad"
Signed E. Hallström. Executed 1922. Panel 40 x 76.5 cm.
Provenance
Svensk-Franska Konstauktioner, march 1935.
Mrs B. Claesson, Sundbyberg.
Private collection.
Exhibitions
Jubileumsutställningen, Göteborg 1922.
Sundbybergs Allmänna Konstförening, exhibition "Konst ur Sundbybergshem 1951"
Literature
SAK publ LXXVI, ill. p. 180.
More information
Following the First World War, in 1921 Eric Hallström decided to travel down through Europe to seek new inspiration from a different culture and other artists. In the novel "Eric Hallström - liv och konstnärskap", Lennarth Seth has written "Following the war-years' expressionist extravagance, many artists felt the need for a fresh start; many searched for a new, classicist ideal in traditional Italy."
Throughout the previous decade, Eric Hallström had become one of the leading naïve artists in Sweden, along with painters such as Hilding Linnqvist and Gideon Börje. Due to this, it was perhaps considered odd that he took a new path - as naïve artists were those who solely found inspiration in their home country.
Therefore, when the borders finally opened following the war, even this naïve artist decided to explore abroad. For Hallström, this led to going to the roots of the masters - to Michelangelos, Rafaels, Giottos and Fre Angelicos Italy. Not only did he visit Venice, Padua, Verona, Bologna and Siena, Hallström particularly liked Florence and its outskirts Settigano and Pistoja. Most of his time was spent going to museums and studying art historical buildings - seeking inspiration. Therefore, barely anything was painted during this time.
After six months abroad, Eric Hallström returned to Sweden full of inspiration from Italy. That summer, he painted from his memories of the trip, to portray his perception of the Italian cities and the mediterranean.
Artist
Eric Hallström counts as one of the leading representatives for the Swedish naivism. He had his debut in 1917. Through his painting he communicates his memories from the outskirts of Stockholm, a motif he worked with for a long time. Hallström came into contact with Ångermanland through Pelle Molin's "Ådalens poesi", and shortly after he travelled there to experience the dark forests, the undulating horizon, powerful rivers and log floating, which later took shape in his Stockholm studio. His compositions become lighter when he traveled to South Africa and Italy in the 1920s, approaching a new objectivity, causing the naive elements to disappear. Hallström's storytelling talent is revived in the 1930s when he, using strong colors in a primitive style, expresses his experiences of people and landscapes.
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